Twilight on the Verge
by Ebony Dear
Summary: Set after season 5, Tribemaster spies on the tribe as they begin their new lives.
1. Arrival

_Summary:_

_Nooneknows the real identity of "Tribemaster" but one thing's for sure - "it" lives in Sector 9 of the city and sends updates, gossip and information from Tribeworld... _

_'It' is really a 'she', and her name is Ada. When the tribe entered the new territory, she began to spy on them as they began to rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, she was caught._

**Disclaimer  
I don't own the characters, except for my little rendition of the tribemaster. Sorry I don't make these things more entertaining.**

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Their arrival was bittersweet as the journey on boat held many moments in which fate took hold of their fragile tribe. Tension between others made the boat seem smaller than its actual size, which was not very large to begin with. And so they arrived. It was a place to begin anew, but so much of their pasts had been tied together in their previous home. A home which they would never be able to go to again, for another virus attacked it. Chances are it killed all who stayed.

They landed on a small beach with broken bark strewn across the gray sands. As they exited the boat in pairs- Ebony with Slade, Jay with Amber- they all could have sworn it was the same beach as their old home. It almost struck fear into the younger ones as they looked on at the familiar scene.

The younger ones were lucky.

The minds of the older tribe members were filled with thoughts of what lied ahead of them. It plagued most of their minds as they all gathered together yards away from the shore, leaving their boat behind. Gel, Lottie, Darryl and Sammy sat in a semi-circle near a fallen tree trunk lying on the outliers of the beach. Amber and Jay, both lost in worry for the sake of the Mallrats, huddled together with baby Bray sleeping in Amber's arms. Ebony and Slade walked side by side in silence until they reached the already forming circle, with Ram following behind them. Lex wandered along the shore, his mind still on what he had left behind. Salene helped Ruby to the group because she was still weak from an 'accident' that occurred when they were evacuating. May followed closely behind Salene. Jack and Ellie began to gather supplies from the boat and carried them over to the group. The last to finally gather, besides Lex, was Trudy and Brady. No matter what they were thinking of as they had gathered together, they all began to focus on the same thing: What would they do now?

In their old home, the city for some and in a small town called Liberty for others, they all had a purpose before a computer program became self-aware and demolished all they had left from the first disaster that killed off their parents and any other adult that they cared for. Most of the journey by boat left them with nothing to think about but the mistakes they made and the 'what ifs' that may have changed their outcome. Deep in their minds, they believed it was their fault. Or at least that is how Ram felt as he seated himself among people he had known to be enemies once upon a time.

On the boat, only one meeting was made to decide what would happen next, the rest of the time was spent with others in their couples or in small alliances that began to form. The one meeting discussed the possibility of a name change, but went nowhere in any specification of what a new tribe name could be. Such a trivial thing like a name did not top anyone's list as they sailed farther and farther away to a new place. Jay and Amber had brought it up, however. Perhaps it was to take other's minds off of the fact that they had left behind their home. Or maybe it was to re-unify the group that had been slowly tearing at the seams as conflicts increased throughout the different members. What was certain for them was the fact that this name change would have to happen now before they began to venture into the mainland. Lex finally trudged toward the circle.

"Is everybody here?" Amber asked, though she already knew that they were. A nod came from the younger tribe members as they looked up at her. For anyone who knew her, Amber was a leader, and she was one of the older tribe members to look up to as a role model.

"Well," Amber continued, "Let's try to find a new tribe name, then shall we?" Her proposition was met with scoffs and sighs. At hearing this, Jay jumped in to support Amber.

"Come on," he pleaded, "Don't you think that a new tribe name will unify us better? Not all of us were Mallrats you know."

"There isn't even a mall anymore," Ebony chimed in. At this statement most of the older tribe members grew uncomfortable. Such pessimistic views were expected of Ebony, for she was a realist in almost every sense of the world. Surviving was her business, and being in power was her icing on the cake so to speak. It would make her an undisputable leader, if she only learned to put others first.

Gel, being the cheery ditz she was known for, giggled excitedly as she suggested a new name.

"How about the 'Gellettes'?"

It was turned down by an overwhelming majority, only Sammy agreeing with the conceited girl. Of course, he only did so in a cheesy persuasion to make Gel fancy him. Poor guy was going about it the entirely wrong way.

The circle grew silent again for a few moments. Lex contributed his idea.

"Sivas?"

The name stung his heart, for 'Siva' was the name of the love he lost back in the city. Her own sister, Java, killed her because she had gotten in the way to save Ebony. Lex wanted her name to live on somehow, so why not as the new tribe name? His thoughts were not agreed with, and he eventually walked off again towards the shore. It was unlike him to be a very compassionate person because of his selfish nature and bureaucratic tendencies, but Siva had struck a chord with him as Tai-san did before her. Certain women seemed to be the weakness to Lex, though he would never admit to it.

More moments passed with unsuccessful recommendations. Soon the light began to fade, and the sunset ended after that, leaving the tribe in the moonlight. Brady was beginning to fuss, and Trudy was becoming more and more tired of the monotonous discussion.

"We should continue this tomorrow," she reasoned after a yawn, "there's no use sitting here on the beach until it's twilight just to find a name."

Amber's eyes brightened. "That's it." Her mouth formed a large smile, but everyone else was mystified as to what she was smiling about.

Trudy gave a look of confusion, furrowing her brow. "What's it?"

"Our name, Trudy," Amber said, still smiling. "Our new tribe name will be Twilight."

The younger children nodded and said they liked it. The older tribe members were just glad that they wouldn't have to sit there anymore. And so the tribe gathered their things and set up camp, for the next morning they would have to begin another journey to find a place to settle.


	2. Troubling Thoughts

The seagulls flying through the sky screeched their loud morning "hellos" to one another as they flew above the temporary camp of the Twilight Tribe. Amber's eyes opened to see the bluish hue of sunlight streaming through her tent. She squinted slightly, still tired from last night's deliberations. Most of her night consisted of staying up later than everyone else, putting out the fire on the beach and sitting along the shore contemplating the future. It seemed to her that it would never leave her mind, not fully, until she knew everyone was safe.

Jay was still asleep beside her. They had shared a tent together with little Bray sleeping in between them. His breathing was still quiet, his chest rising very slow, then going back down to repeat once again. Amber stared at him for minutes, comforted by his company whether he was awake or not. Ever since losing him for those days while he was comatose, she had developed a need for him to be with her no matter what. It was a dependency that Jay had grown to like as time grew on. Amber laid sideways, resting her head on her hands, staring at Bray and Jay as though there was nothing else better in the world. But still those thoughts threatened to escape from the back of her mind. She finally decided to get up and out from the tent, deciding she needed some fresh air.

The waves crashed along the shore, white foam sticking on the sand for only a few seconds before it disappeared. Strong smells of salt rushed to Amber's nose. Memories entranced her, and she remembered the experiments, the banishment, the torture. It seemed that bad thoughts would not leave her be. She closed her eyes, pressing her palms against her temples. Why couldn't she just forget it?

_This place could be better_, she thought.

She wanted it to be better, better than that forsaken city in which memories of Zoot and other megalomaniacs struck fear in her heart. Once more the sunlight caused her eyes to open. The cloudless sky was enviable to her, for it had nothing in the way of its existence. She sat in the sand where the waves could not reach, and breathed in the salty air. Maybe this would be the last time she had to, maybe- further on- this island would make a peaceful settlement.

"Amber," Lex called out to his fellow tribe member.

She turned to the voice, and upon seeing Lex turned right back around. For some reason she just didn't want to hear anything from him. Her thoughts were annoying her enough to drive her insane.

Lex strode over to the tribe leader, sitting down beside her as she stared on to the sea. His thoughts were on Siva still. There was no comfort in his tent for him, no one to lean on. And it troubled him. It wouldn't matter to him who was with him as long as he had some female company, but somehow... Somehow Siva's death left him angrier and colder than before. She left him, and he knew that her face would never be seen again. Even now, as her body was miles away in the city, he felt torn. On this beach, he could find nothing to help him take his mind off of it. There was no profit to be won, for the only people he had seen on this island were his companions. It crossed his mind a few times to leave, but it simply was too rash despite his tendencies.

Amber had been the first person he had seen awake this bright morning.

She looked stressed, as she normally did in any new situation where the stakes were high. He wasn't fooled like the younger ones in the tribe. He knew exactly what the others, including Amber, were thinking. Some were ridiculous false hopes that he fathomed would never come true in a million years, others were ones that were terribly real. The frightening part was that some of those thoughts consisted of other members, ones that Lex believed should not be trusted. However, he never shared those thoughts with anyone besides Ram.

Ram, whom had been Lex's enemy up until Siva's untimely death, was now his closest ally. Which he thought highly odd as well, but then again this was tribeworld, and things changed whether one wanted or not. It was the one law that someone could abide by.

Lex took in a sharp breath, focusing on the sky. He felt supremely pessimistic at that moment, wanting dark clouds to roll in and bring the rain with them. He wanted the weather to match his mood.

Sounds could be heard from various tents, and both of the members knew that they would not be able to contemplate their thoughts and feelings much longer. Both of them stood up, and headed towards the log where they had had their first meeting.

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**Author's Note: **I'm posting this on eyeboards as well, if you want to check it out there. I might put extra stuff on that chapter, just because.


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